Done the flash bit.. In order to get enough light it would be too distracting to the players. I mean it woul dhave to be pretty strong and light up part of the football pitch. There not gong to be too impressed when about to take a shot on goal and there blinded by my flash

Using burst mode you have to keep in mind that the camera will only focus one time - just before the first shot. As long as you hold the button down it will rely on that first focus, so make sure you get a good site picture and hold steady for the first shot.

Depends on which drive mode you use...on the C-700 there's regular "burst", and "burst" with autofocus before each one.

That is true, but if you set the "burst" to focus before each shot there is usually too much time between shots to get good action photos. I usually take about 6 or 7 shots at a time just as the action begins to develop and I get some pretty cool shots.